Regional : Strengthening Coastal and Marine Resources Management in the Coral Triangle of the Pacific (Phase 2)

Agriculture, natural resources and rural development / Water-based natural resources management

Capability building activities for effective ICRM for food security and increased resilience of coastal and marine ecosystems are ongoing in Timor Leste and Solomon Islands. Acquired knowledge and skills are applied in the development of ICRM plans, local fisheries management plans, MPA establishment, and implementation of subprojects.

Information, education, and communication (IEC)-related activities are ongoing to complement the capability-building activities for uptake of knowledge by the communities and sustain the gains from subproject activities.

Capabilities of national and local institutions strengthened in sustainable coastal and marine resources management

Coastal communities experienced in applying best practices in ecosystem-based management and climate change adaptation

Resilience of coastal ecosystems to climate change enhanced

Effective program management established by ADB and the participating governments

Output 1: Capabilities of national and local institutions strengthened in sustainable coastal and marine resources management.

Conducted regional and in-country training programs and workshops on: (i) ICRM, EBFM, marine protected areas (MPAs) management, and climate change adaptation; (ii) data collection; (iv) organizational reforms; and (v) environmental and resource management law, including those related to ICRM and EBFM.

Documented lessons learned and country case studies through IUCN's Lessons Learning Framework for the environmental law component.

Strengthened environmental law associations as platforms in pursuing the countries' environmental law and policy development, such as the development of protected areas policy and legislation in Papua New Guinea, development of ICRM in Fiji and environmental policy for Vanuatu.

Enabled the development and passage of the new Malaita Province Fisheries Ordinance (Bill) in Solomon Islands and ministerial diplomas for the MPA sites in Atauro and Batugade in Timor-Leste that define their boundaries, set up an aquatic reserve, and regulate their management.

Supported activities on sustainable financing in Vanuatu toward the development of an environment and climate change trust fund (ECT) to build and ensure support to the programs of the Department of Environmental Protection and Conservation on environmental conservation and climate change adaptation. An ECT Administration Manual has been introduced and a draft ECT Bill was developed to meet Vanuatu's policy needs and address constraints.

Drafted the Ra Provincial ICM Plan which had drawn support from SPC''s Restoration of Ecosystem Services and Adaptation to Climate Change (RESCCUE) project for the plan's the completion and adoption. The plan will be used as to identify activities that can be further supported by the Restoration of Ecosystem Services and Adaptation to Climate Change (RESCCUE) project.

Output 2: Coastal communities experienced in applying best practices in ecosystem-based management and climate change adaptation

Implemented subprojects in the priority sites through subcontracted NGOs on community based resource management; sustainable financing, mangrove rehabilitation; women's active involvement in locally managed marine areas; ridge-to-reef approach to resource management; community-based management of crown-of-thorns starfish; communication, education, and information awareness on MPAs; and other ICRM planning-related activities.

Developed the marine conservation plans for Malaita and Isabel provinces in Solomon Islands, and drafted the MPA management plan in Atauro and Batugade in Timor-Leste.

Ongoing implementation of five subprojects on fish aggregating devices (Fiji, Timor-Leste, and Vanuatu), community-based resource management including population study on saltwater crocodiles and scaling-up of initiatives for locally managed marine areas (Solomon Islands), gillnet exchange and diversification to climate resilient gardening practices (Papua New Guinea), and seascape planning including marine protected areas and development of national fisheries strategy (Timor-Leste).

Completed the subproject in Papua New Guinea on strengthening local capacity of 10 vulnerable island communities for an ecosystem-based approach to resource management which covered FADs, gillnet exchange and diversification to climate resilient gardening practices.

Ongoing data collection of catches in Fiji and Vanuatu to provide feed-back to the communities and to assist the national fisheries departments in formulating appropriate legislation to sustain resources.

Completed FAD-related training on boat safety and effective fishing methods; fisheries data collection including on traditional uses and practices, analysis and reporting; and ecological and socio-economic monitoring

Output 3: Resilience of coastal ecosystems to climate change enhanced.

Produced 13 regional resource maps showing estimates of reef areas vulnerable to coral bleaching, coastline length vulnerable to ocean acidification, land area vulnerable to submersion at 1-meter sea level rise, area of key marine habitats, and area of marine habitats under protection.

Prepared community resource participatory maps for 10 wards in Malaita province, Solomon Islands which are now being used by the provincial government in preparing ward profiles.

Completed studies on (i) Responding to Climate Change using an Adaptation Pathways and Decision-making Approach by WorldFish that recommended ways to strengthen the capacity of stakeholders to assess climate change risks to coastal livelihoods and develop cost-effective planned responses to reduce these risks (http://www.ctknetwork.org/videos/community-based-adaptation-to-climate-change-empowers-coastal-communities-in-timor-leste/ and http://www.adb.org/publications/climate-change-coral-triangle-pacific-countries); and (ii) Future Prospects and Adaptation Strategies for the Fisheries Sector under Climate Change in the Pacific Coral Triangle Countries by IFPRI that developed a modeling approach to food supply, demand, and price scenarios in Fiji, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, and Vanuatu, and generated a set of 12 general conclusions concerning the implications for food security in these countries.

Climate change adaptation measures integrated into (i) draft management plans for Atauro and Batugade in Timor-Leste; and (ii) Vunuasi River estuary and coastal area ecosystem management plan in Vanuatu

Climate change adaptation measures, public awareness, and knowledge product development currently embedded in the 5 five ongoing subprojects

Measures to build the resilience of coastal ecosystems continue to be integrated into local/community/ward development and fisheries management plans, and inform policy actions. Other IEC-related activities are being designed to enhance the understanding of coastal communities on the importance of improving the resilience of coastal ecosystems to contribute towards food security.

Output 4: Effective program management established by ADB and the participating governments

Engaged the FCG ANZDEC from 25 October 2011 to 30 October 2015, as the PMC that carried out the basic staffing for the RPMO and the NPMUs, and provided in-country program management and implementation, including (i) mobilization of national and international specialists/consultants; (ii) detailed work planning; (iii) coordination of demonstration activities; (iv) procurement of goods and services, including subcontracting of service providers to implement subprojects and training activities; (v) financial management; and (vi) documentation and reporting.

Completed the mid-term review in 2015.

Set up the TCU within PARD to support TA implementation.

Developed a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework with monitoring and reporting tools to guide country activities, and trained the NPMU staff on its use and application. The PMC submitted 11 quarterly progress reports as well as periodic updates on a subproject basis to track the progress of project-supported activities. A monitoring and evaluation specialist was mobilized to conduct a more focused analysis and processing of collected data in the context of the overall objective of the project.

Set up an online file-sharing account administered by the PMC to access subproject information and documents, and served as the repository of all reports and presentation materials. Access was granted to all project partners and consultants interested to share or download project-related information.

Provided support to strengthen the role of the CTI National Coordinating Committees (NCCs) of PNG, SOL and TIM or their equivalents (National Integrated Coastal Management [NICM]in Fiji and National Advisory Board [NAB] in Vanuatu) as platforms for ICRM-related discussions, exchange of information, as well as coordination and identification of synergies across key stakeholders.

Continuing support to the CTI NCCs in strengthening their advisory and policy-making capacities with respect to food security vis coastal and marine resources, specifically in the updating and costing of the national plans of action (NPOAs) of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste to serve as the foundation for future CTI funding of the country priorities on improving food security. Consultancy support is also being provided to the CTI Regional Secretariat for the review of its Regional Plan of Action.

Initiated the updating and costing of the national plans of action (NPOAs) of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands to serve as the foundation for future CTI budgeting and funding of the countries identified priorities, specifically on improving food security.

Facilitated the transfer of the Continuous administration and operation of the Coral Triangle Knowledge Network (http://www.ctknetwork.org) to the CTI Regional Secretariat.

As part of the project's information, education and communications activities, (i) prepared the IEC strategy plan that included egional and in-country action plans; (ii) published online the policy brief on _Food Security in the Coral Triangle of the Pacific Countries: Prospects of Fisheries Development Strategies_ based on the research study of IFPRI (https://www.adb.org/publications/food-security-coral-triangle-pacific-countries; (iii) completed a whiteboard animation video on coral reef conservation; and (iv) ongoing finalization of the comic book on coral reef conservation.

Annual implementation review workshops attended by focal government offices, implementing partners and the PMC were conducted in September 2012 and April 2013 at ADB headquarters to discuss TA progress and issues/concerns requiring attention/solutions.

Regional consultation workshops were conducted on 26 to 29 April 2015 (Brisbane) and 13 to 15 October (Sydney). The regional planning meeting in Brisbane generated a list of pipeline projects consisting of 12 in-country and 2 regional subprojects and training activities for implementation under the TA. The final workshop in Sydney reflected on outcomes and lessons from the subprojects from the perspectives of the field consultants, government, community, and experienced practitioners and reviewers of ecosystem based management initiatives. Shared during these fora were perceptions of best practices, implementation barriers, recommendations for finalising the project and preparing for follow-up implementation, including on data and information needs for effective project evaluation and reporting.

Close coordination and consultation have been done with the CTI NCCs of PNG, SOL and TIM, the NICM of Fiji, and NAB in Vanuatu in identifying and prioritizing subprojects and training activities. At the subproject level, consultations with community and stakeholders were undertaken to directly engage their participation in the implementation of activities.

A mid-term review (MTR) was conducted in 2014 to assess the TA and recommend measures to improve its implementation and achieve the overarching objective of ensuring food security. The MTR recommendations informed and guided changes in the scope of and implementation arrangements for the TA. The review constituted country visits in the five Pacific countries and extensive consultations with key stakeholders. The MTR results were shared with focal government offices during the Regional Planning Work Group meeting on 26 to 29 April 2015.

A revised TA completion date of 31 December 2018 was approved on 11 July 2017 to enable sufficient time to implement and deliver the expected outputs of ongoing activities, implement additional activities that support the outcome of the TA design and monitoring framework, as well as complete the financial closure requirements of the TA. ADB has directly engaged NGOs for subproject implementation.

The PMC supplied 91.5 person-months of international and 423 person-months of national consulting services to support in-country program management and implementation in the five Pacific countries. The firm was selected using QCBS evaluation (90:10) following ADB's Guidelines on the Use of Consultants. The PMC's contract expired on 30 October 2015.

ADB now directly administers the following NGOs for subproject implementation: (i) WorldFish in Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste, (ii) Conservation International in Fiji, Timor-Leste and Vanuatu. The contract of Wildlife Conservation Society in Papua New Guinea is completed last 31 May 2018.

IUCN Oceania, the World Fish Center (WFC), and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) were engaged through single source selection and provided a total of 51 person-months of consultant inputs to conduct special studies, research, and other selected activities related to climate change adaptation, environmental law and learning, and food security issues. IFPRI, WFC, and IUCN have completed their contracts on 31 October 2013, 15 November 2014, and 31 September 2015, respectively.

During the course of TA implementation, ADB has directly engaged the services of a program coordinator, project planning and monitoring specialist, and project analyst to assist in TA administration and implementation. To address the TAs current management and administration requirements in the extended period, the TCU now consists of the project director, planning and coordination specialist, project operations analyst, and monitoring and evaluation specialist.

Additionally, ADB has engaged the following individual consultants to provide support services to the countries: (i) development planning and financial management/costing specialist to jumpstart the updating and costing of the NPOAs Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands; (ii) national events coordinator in Papua New Guinea from 24 August to 16 December 2016 to lead the preparation and organization of the CTI-CFF 12th Senior Officials Meeting and 6th Ministerial Meeting held from 31 October to 3 November 2016, and (iii) development and investment planning specialists for Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste, to review/refine and update their respective CTI NPOAs. Additional consultancy support was provided to the CTI NCC of Papua New Guinea through the engagement of a CTI-CFF technical officer and CTI-CFF communications officer.

For information sharing and implementation of the IEC component, the following were engaged: a web developer, web content producer, an animator, development communications specialist, knowledge management specialist/graphic designer. A youth and environment specialist, knowledge management and outreach specialist, and short-term skill-specific specialists have been mobilized to support the implementation on IEC activities and development of knowledge products.